Abstract:
Half a century after the fluorescent tube revolutionised indoor lighting, scientists have come up with another bright idea. A decade from now it may make the flickering tube as obsolete as the gas lamp. Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney won't say exactly how it works. "It's a secret," said Geoff Smith, a professor of applied physics and nanotechnology. The commercial potential is just too big. Working with a Queensland company, Poly Optics, they have used nanotechnology - the science of particles as small as a billionth of a metre - to develop an energy efficient "light pipe."